Dispensing machine



April 1947- N; D. ASHWOOD 2,419,050

DISPENSING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 22, 1945 F19 j A oflnan D Ashwao',

April 15, 1947. ASHWOOD 2,419,050

DISPENSING MACHINE 2 Sheets Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1945 W hm Norman D. Ashwoofi,

Patented Apr. 15, 1947 DISPENSING MACHINE Norman D. Ashwood, Victoria, British Columbia,

Canad Application .Fune 22, 1945, Serial No. 601,042

3 Glaims.

This invention relates to a vending machine and it consists in the constructions, arrangements and combinations herein described and claimed.

It. is an object of the invention to provide a dispens'ing machine of simple construction and of few parts which will eiliciently dispense articles of a cylindrical shape, such as cigars, cigarettes, pencils, etc.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a novel means for agitating the articles containedwithin a storage hopper of the device, insuring proper feeding thereof to a discharge chute, avoiding liability of clogging.

It is also an important object of the invention to provide a novel construction of ejector device in which means are associated therewith to effect agitation of the articles to be dispensed upon movement of the ejector to dispensing or retracted positions, thus assuring an orderly feeding of the articles to the ejector.

It is a still further object of theinvention to provide a novel construction of cabinet for housing the mechanism of the apparatus as well as providing storage and humidifying compartments, the latter being advantageous when the machine is employed for dispensing cigars or cigarettes.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical section through the vending machine, illustrating the positions of the several parts, when in ejecting or delivery position.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating the parts when in article-receiving positions.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section similar to Figure 1, the articles in the hopper being omitted to more clearly show the agitator.

Figure 4 is a cross section on Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a top Figure 7 is a cross section on Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a modified form of the ejector.

Attention is first invited to Figure l of the drawings, wherein a cabinet It is shown which may be constructed in any suitable dimensions for the purposes intended and obviously may be made from any suitable materials such as sheet metal, plastics or from any of the expensive woods, where an elaborate cabinet is desired.

The cabinet here shown includes a supporting base. H, a, bottom wall l2, front, side and back Wallis. l t. 4 and .5. re pective y, e Walls being suitably connected to form a rigid structure, the upper end being open and provided with an interior ring l6 forming a reinforcement of the upper ends of the walls as well as providing a seat for a closure cover ll.

the line 5-4 of the line l-l of plan view of the ejector, per so.

The front wall l3 has an article discharge opening is formed therein a suitable distance above the base I i and leading inwardly therefrom a chute i9 is provided, the upper end thereof being in registry with an opening formed in a horizontal partition wall 2! extended between and connected to the front, rear and'side walls. There is thus provided a storage compartment 22, the back wall thereof having an opening formed therein closed by a door 23, permitting access to the com partment.

Parallel to the wall 2i a second wall 24 is ar ranged between the side, front and back Walls in suitable spaced relation, defining a guide way 25 for an article receiver and ejector 26, presently to be described. Between the walls 2| and 24 inwardly of the rear wall l5, a vertical plate 21 is secured, medially of which there is secured one end of a helical spring 28, the other end of the spring being anchored to the rear wall of the ejector, as indicated at 29.

As clearly shown in Figures 6 and '7, the ejector is substantially rectangular in plan and of hollow formation, defined by a bottom wall 30, top wall 3 l, respective rear and front Walls 32 and 33. The bottom and top walls 3!! and 3! are interrupted by vertically spaced walls 34 forming an article-receiving opening 35 extending from respective end walls 36, which walls have intermediate portions whose upper edges are upwardly inclined in a forward direction. An ear 31 is mounted upon the rear wall 32 for anchorage of the spring 28 while a similar ear 38 is secured to the front wall 33 for secure-ment of a pull cord at. The ears S'l and 38 are located in the medial longitudinal and vertical planes of the ejector to effect an even movement along the guide-way 25. The top wall 33 is formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced elongated openings id, adapted to register with a slot 4! formed in the wall 24, so as to'accommodate teeth 42 of a gear it. The gear 33 is rotatably mounted in a bearing it suitably fixed upon the wall 24.

In order that the ejector 26 may be drawn forwardly for ejection of an article, the pull cord 39 passes beneath a pulley 45 and partly around a pulley 55, each being mounted on the rear of the front wall H3. The pull cord then passes partly around a grooved pulley 4i and secured thereto, as indicated at 26. The pulley 41 is fixed upon shaft t9 rotatably journalled in the front wall it, the shaft extending through the wall to present a portion for securement of an operating knob 56 I It will be apparent that by rotating the shaft til, the pull cord will be drawn upon and wound partly around the pulley il, effecting a forward movement of the ejector and to limit such movement when the opening; 35 and chute I9 are in registry, a stop 5! is fixed upon the wall 2! in advance of the chute, as shown in Figure 3. In this position of the ejector an article contained therein would be free for discharge into the chute and final disposition in the receiving trough 52 exteriorly of the wall l3. When the ejector 25 is drawn forwardly, the spring 28 is longitudinally stretched and with release of the knob 56 the spring will draw the ejector rearwardly to bring the receiving opening 35 into registry with a chute 53 of a discharge hopper E l, now to be described.

The discharge hopper 54 has inclined bottom wall 55, vertical rear wall 56 and a similarly dis posed front wall 51 and respective side walls, forming an upwardly opening receptacle 58, which in the present instance, is supported within the cabinet by means of brackets 53. A closure 60 is provide for the open end of the receptacle.

The inclined bottom wall 55 is provided with a vertically disposed wall 65 parallel to the wall 57 and cooperable with the wall 51 there is a short section of wall 62, forming the discharge chute. The wall 62 is in spaced relation to the wall to define a vertical passage 63. A lever 64 is reciprocably mounted in the passage 63, the low er end of which is pivotally connected to a pitman 65, the latter being eccentrically connected to the gear 43. The upper end of the lever has fixed thereto a flexible strap 66 which normally rests upon the inclined bottom wall of the hopper. The strap 66 is formed from mate rial having a slippery surface such as silk, for instance, to more readily impart downward shifting of the articles in the hopper.

It will be seen that under forward movement of the ejector 23, the teeth of the gear 43 being in mesh with openings 40, the pitman 65 and associated lever a l will have been drawn downwardly under rotation of the gear, as seen in Figure 1, and upon return movement of the ejector, the pitman and lever will have been raised, as in Figure 2. Under movement of the lever 64 the strap 66 will have been raised and lowered, agitating the articles in the hopper feed of the articles into the chute 53.

The rear Wall l5 of the cabinet is formed with a door 67 for access into a compartment 68, the latter providing for storage of a humidifier 69, for maintaining a moisture-laden air for preservation of cigars or cigarettes within compartment 68 and the hopper, the air passing into the hopper through perforations 70 formed in the walls of the hopper.

The ejector construction described provides for ejection of a single article but in Figure 8 an ejector is shown for ejection of three articles, the only difference being in the height of the ejector so as to accommodate the required number of articles. Of course, the use of the modified form of ejector would require the proper spacing of the walls 2! and 24 to provide a proper guideway.

The form Of the device here shown and described is purely a dispensing machine such as might be used for personal or family use, but obviously, conventional coin controlled mechanism can be installed in the cabinet and operatively associated with the operating mechanism to provide a commercial vending machine.

While I have shown and described a preferred construction of the machine, this is by way of illustration only, and I consider as my own all such modifications in construction as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

and insuring proper I claim:

1. A vending machine comprising a cabinet structure, a hopper within the cabinet including a downwardly opening chute, a guide way 1ongitudinally of the cabinet and disposed beneath said chute, said guide way having an opening in registry with said chute, an ejector movable along said guide Way and including an article receiving trough, spring means for holding said ejector in article receiving position beneath said chute, a second chute within the cabinet in article receiving relation to said ejector and having a discharge end exteriorly of the cabinet, operative means exteriorly of the cabinet and connected to said ejector to draw the latter along said guide way into discharge position with said second named chute, a flexible strap disposed upon the bottom of said hopper, a lever connected to the lower end of said strap, and said lever having operative connection with said ejector whereby to vertically move said strap upon sliding movement of the ejector.

2. A vending machine comprisinga cabinet structure, a hopper within the cabinet including an inclined bottom and a downwardly opening chute, a pair of spaced longitudinal walls in the cabinet providing a guide way and dividing the cabinet into lower arid upper compartments, the upper wall having an opening in registry with said chute, the lower wall having an opening in advance of said chute, a second chute within said cabinet one end being connected at the opening of the lower wall, the other end being connected to an opening formed in the front wall of the cabinet for discharge of articles exteriorly of the cabinet, an ejector slidably disposed in said guide way, said ejector having an article receiving opening normally in registry with the opening of the upper wall and said first named chute,

spring means for yieldably holding the ejector in said normal position, a pull cord fixed to the forward end of said ejector, a rotary shaft journalled in the front wall of said cabinet, a pulley on said shaft, an operating knob on said shaft and disposed exteriorly of said wall, pulleys on said wall and having said pull cord partly trained thereabout, said pull cord being connected to said first named pulley, stop means in said guide way to limit forward movement of said ejector, a flexible strap disposed upon the inclined bottom of the hopper and means between said ejector and said strap for imparting movement to said strap upon sliding movements of the ejector.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which the means between the flexible strap and the ejector consists of a gear track on the ejector, a gear in mesh with the gear track, a link eccentrically connected to said gear and a lever connected to the upper end of said link and the lower edge of said strap.

NORMAN D. ASHWOOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 730,707 Rubrecht June 9, 1903 758,301 Day Apr. 26, 1904 1,719,826 Aldrich July 9, 1929 

